Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 114419 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 572(@200wpm)___ 458(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114419 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 572(@200wpm)___ 458(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
He thought he heard movement inside, and a moment later, the lock disengaged, and the door was pulled open. Sienna stood there in wrinkled work clothes, her hair in a lopsided updo, one eye squinted as she tilted her head to look at him. “Gavin,” she whispered. “What are you doing here?”
“Hey,” he said, peering at her, noticing the dark smudges beneath her eyes. “You weren’t answering your phone, so I came to check on you. Are you okay?”
She sighed, gesturing that he should come inside. He did, shutting the door behind him and following her to the living room, where she’d obviously been sitting on the floor working. There were papers and files spread out around the spot she settled herself into now. She picked up her phone lying next to her and then huffed out a breath, tossing it back down. “It’s dead. I need to charge it.”
He glanced around, but there was still no furniture, just the two unopened boxes positioned where they’d sat the first time he’d been there. He took the same seat on the sagging box, leaning his elbows on his knees. Sienna sat back against the wall, grimacing as she rubbed her forehead. He watched her for a minute. “You’re exhausted,” he noted. And it appeared she had a headache.
She gave a short laugh that morphed into a pained huff of breath. “I’m aware. That’s why I came home to work.”
“It seems like sleep might be the better priority.”
She shot him a look that said she didn’t need his unsolicited advice, but the grimace that followed proved his point. She leaned forward, stretching her neck. “It’s really this headache that’s making me miserable,” she said.
“Have you taken anything for it?”
She shook her head, and even that small movement appeared to cause her discomfort. She leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes. Gavin pulled himself up from the cardboard box. “Do you have anything in your medicine cabinet?”
“No. I thought I had something, but I don’t,” she murmured. “It’s been so long since I’ve had a headache like this,” she said, her words so soft he almost didn’t hear them.
His heart reached for her. She’d pushed herself so hard she’d hit a brick wall. And still, she was sitting on the floor in her house, going over case notes.
“I’ll be right back.” He was pretty sure he had a bottle of Tylenol in his glove box. He walked outside, leaving her door very slightly ajar, and went to the passenger side of his car. “Score,” he murmured, pulling out the medicine. He closed his car door and turned toward Sienna’s walkway, uncertainty making him pause.
He pressed his lips together, then stopped and took his phone from his pocket before dialing. “Mom?”
“Hi, Gavin, I’m in the middle of watching this ridiculous American Bake-Off show. It’s the final episode, and it’s tense. I can’t decide—”
“Mom,” he repeated.
“Gavin, what’s wrong?” she asked, obviously hearing the seriousness of his tone.
“I’m at Sienna’s. She went home sick from work, and she has a terrible headache. Didn’t she used to get them as a kid?”
“Oh dear. Yes. Is she squinting her left eye?”
“Yeah. I was trying to remember what you used to give her that worked best.” He pictured a young Sienna lying on his couch, his mom sitting beside her as she smoothed a wet washcloth across her forehead. Of course, Sienna herself could probably tell him what typically worked best for her, but he was worried she’d shoo him away before he could provide her the relief she obviously needed.
“That terrible one-sided headache she used to get when she was overly stressed.” Mirabelle clicked her tongue. “Give her some Tylenol. She always seemed to respond best to that. And put a cold compress on her head.”
He released a breath, continuing to Sienna’s door. Tylenol. Cold compress. “Okay, got it. Thanks, Mom.”
“That’s what moms are for.” He heard the smile in her voice.
He went inside, locked the front door, and peeked in the living room, where Sienna was still sitting against the wall, her mouth open, as she slept. Tenderness engulfed him, his lips tipping as he watched her sleep. He considered leaving her right there rather than waking her so she could head to bed. Even in sleep, though, her expression looked slightly pained, as though the headache was breaking into her dreams. And if she slept in that position for longer than an hour, she was going to wake up with sore muscles to accompany her aching head. He retrieved a bottle of water from her fridge, shook out two Tylenols, and then returned to where she was.
“Si?” He shook her slightly, and she mumbled, her head coming forward, eyes half-open as she oriented herself. He handed her the capsules. “Here, take these. They’ll help.”